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Sunday

to take it all in

tucked in under tattered, loved quilts are
four little ones,
sleeping off another summer day spent
in perfect freedom.

outside,
under star infused sky,
older children are reading by flashlight,
basking in cool night breeze, not
quite ready to turn in,
to let the moment go.

we all know these are fleeting;
lazy summer days and breathtaking nights.
soon they will pass,
and then we will drive oldest brother
out of state where
he will begin his next phase.

so we are all going slow,
living this summer for each simple moment.
watching pearl jean grow and
her senses open to the world around her.
laughing and talking,
two verbs which are constant here as we
prepare for changes to come.

we walk.
we cook.
we play games.
we clean.
we read.
we laugh.
we laugh.
and we do it all together,
knowing that soon we will
have one less.

so even though i am a lover of autumn,
a crisp breeze, pumpkin bread, wool sweater
kind of girl,
this summer,
i don't want to rush it.
this summer,
i want to tiptoe and not miss a second.

so,
those older kids are sitting in the moonlight reading
with that oldest brother soon to journey on and
those little ones are snuggled tight under quilts,
dreaming of summer days.
i'm taking it all in.
i'm not missing it.

4 comments:

I'm sorry for your son having to go out of state. My sister left for about ten months total (she did come home for three weeks at Christmas) last August, for a Bible institute in Florida. We live in Washington State, so it was about as far away as she could be. . . .